Privacy Policy

An overview of data protection

General

The following gives a simple overview of what happens to your personal information when you visit our website. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy found below.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?

The data collected on this website are processed by the website operator. The operator's contact details can be found in the website's required legal notice.

How do we collect your data?

Some data are collected when you provide it to us. This could, for example, be data you enter on a contact form.

Other data are collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. These data are primarily technical data such as the browser and operating system you are using or when you accessed the page. These data are collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?

Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Other data can be used to analyze how visitors use the site.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it be corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the legal notice if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. You may also, of course, file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities.

Analytics and third-party tools

When visiting our website, statistical analyses may be made of your surfing behavior. This happens primarily using cookies and analytics. The analysis of your surfing behavior is usually anonymous, i.e. we will not be able to identify you from this data. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. Detailed information can be found in the following privacy policy.

You can object to this analysis. We will inform you below about how to exercise your options in this regard.

General information and mandatory information

Data protection

The operators of this website take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data as confidential and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

If you use this website, various pieces of personal data will be collected. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens.

Please note that data transmitted via the internet (e.g. via email communication) may be subject to security breaches. Complete protection of your data from third-party access is not possible.

Notice concerning the party responsible for this website

The responsible party is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (names, email addresses, etc.).

Revocation of your consent to the processing of your data

Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

Right to file complaints with regulatory authorities

If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link: https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to data portability

You have the right to have data which we process based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract automatically delivered to yourself or to a third party in a standard, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

SSL or TLS encryption

This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser's address line when it changes from "http://" to "https://" and the lock icon is displayed in your browser's address bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transfer to us cannot be read by third parties.

Information, blocking, deletion

As permitted by law, you have the right to be provided at any time with information free of charge about any of your personal data that is stored as well as its origin, the recipient and the purpose for which it has been processed. You also have the right to have this data corrected, blocked or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in our legal notice if you have further questions on the topic of personal data.

Opposition to promotional emails

We hereby expressly prohibit the use of contact data published in the context of website legal notice requirements with regard to sending promotional and informational materials not expressly requested. The website operator reserves the right to take specific legal action if unsolicited advertising material, such as email spam, is received.

Data collection on our website

Cookies

Some of our web pages use cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain any viruses. Cookies help make our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called "session cookies." They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain in your device's memory until you delete them. These cookies make it possible to recognize your browser when you next visit the site.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Cookies which are necessary to allow electronic communications or to provide certain functions you wish to use (such as the shopping cart) are stored pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1, letter f of DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure an optimized service provided free of technical errors. If other cookies (such as those used to analyze your surfing behavior) are also stored, they will be treated separately in this privacy policy.

Server log files

The website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits to us in "server log files". These are:

Browser type and browser version

Operating system used

Referrer URL

Host name of the accessing computer

Time of the server request

IP address

These data will not be combined with data from other sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.

Contact form

Should you send us questions via the contact form, we will collect the data entered on the form, including the contact details you provide, to answer your question and any follow-up questions. We do not share this information without your permission.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1)(a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request). Any mandatory statutory provisions, especially those regarding mandatory data retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision.

Registration on this website

You can register on our website in order to access additional functions offered here. The input data will only be used for the purpose of using the respective site or service for which you have registered. The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full. Otherwise, we will reject your registration.

To inform you about important changes such as those within the scope of our site or technical changes, we will use the email address specified during registration.

We will process the data provided during registration only based on your consent per Art. 6 (1)(a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will continue to store the data collected during registration for as long as you remain registered on our website. Statutory retention periods remain unaffected.

Cookie consent

Our website uses vioma GmbH's cookie consent technology to obtain your permission to store certain cookies in your browser and to document these in a manner which is compliant with data protection regulations. The provider of this technology is vioma GmbH ("vioma"), Industriestrasse 27, 77656 Offenburg.

When you access our website, a vioma cookie is stored in your browser to record the consent you have granted or the revocation of such consent. This data will not be passed on to us. You can request us to delete it or you can delete the vioma cookie yourself in your browser. From this point on, we will not process your data any further. The logging of your consent / non-consent is based on a legal obligation according to § 76 Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), Art. 6 Sect. 1 Sentence 1 lit. c GDPR. Mandatory legal retention periods remain unaffected.

Analytics and advertising

Google Analytics

Google Analytics uses so-called "cookies". These are text files that are stored on your computer and that allow an analysis of the use of the website by you. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is usually transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there.

Google Analytics cookies are stored based on Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in analyzing user behavior to optimize both its website and its advertising.

IP anonymization

We have activated the IP anonymization feature on this website. Your IP address will be shortened by Google within the European Union or other parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area prior to transmission to the United States. Only in exceptional cases is the full IP address sent to a Google server in the US and shortened there. Google will use this information on behalf of the operator of this website to evaluate your use of the website, to compile reports on website activity, and to provide other services regarding website activity and Internet usage for the website operator. The IP address transmitted by your browser as part of Google Analytics will not be merged with any other data held by Google.

Browser plugin

You can prevent these cookies being stored by selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, we wish to point out that doing so may mean you will not be able to enjoy the full functionality of this website. You can also prevent the data generated by cookies about your use of the website (incl. your IP address) from being passed to Google, and the processing of these data by Google, by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at the following link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de.

Objecting to the collection of data

You can prevent the collection of your data by Google Analytics by clicking on the following link. An opt-out cookie will be set to prevent your data from being collected on future visits to this site: Disable Google Analytics.

Outsourced data processing

We have entered into an agreement with Google for the outsourcing of our data processing and fully implement the strict requirements of the German data protection authorities when using Google Analytics.

Demographic data collection by Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics' demographic features. This allows reports to be generated containing statements about the age, gender, and interests of site visitors. This data comes from interest-based advertising from Google and third-party visitor data. This collected data cannot be attributed to any specific individual person. You can disable this feature at any time by adjusting the ads settings in your Google account or you can forbid the collection of your data by Google Analytics as described in the section "Refusal of data collection".

Facebook Pixel

These allow the behavior of site visitors to be tracked after they click on a Facebook ad to reach the provider's website. This allows an analysis of the effectiveness of Facebook advertisements for statistical and market research purposes and their future optimization.

The data collected is anonymous to us as operators of this website and we cannot use it to draw any conclusions about our users' identities. However, the data are stored and processed by Facebook, which may make a connection to your Facebook profile and which may use the data for its own advertising purposes, as stipulated in the Facebook privacy policy. This will allow Facebook to display ads both on Facebook and on third-party sites. We have no control over how this data is used.

TAO

This website uses the functions of the web analysis service TAO. The provider of TAO is vioma GmbH ("vioma"), Industriestr. 27, 77656 Offenburg, Germany.

TAO uses so-called "cookies". These are text files which are stored on your computer and which enable an analysis of your use of the website. The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website is transmitted to a vioma server in Germany and stored there.

Purpose of processing and type of data processed

The purpose of the component is the analysis of visitor flows on the operator's website. TAO uses the collected data and information, among other things, to evaluate the use of the website in order to compile online reports, which show the activities on the website, and to provide other services related to the use of the website.

In the course of this technical process, vioma obtains knowledge of personal data, such as the IP address of the person concerned, which vioma uses, among other things, to trace the origin of visitors and clicks. By using cookies, personal information, such as the time of access, the location from which access originated, and the frequency of visits to the website by the person concerned, is stored. Each time the internet pages are visited, this personal data, including the IP address of the internet connection used by the person concerned, is transmitted to vioma in Germany. This personal data is stored by vioma.

Transfer to third parties

vioma does not pass on this personal data collected via this technical process to third parties.

Storage

The storage of TAO cookies and the use of this analysis tool are based on EU GDPR Art. 6 (1) lit. f. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the analysis of user behavior in order to optimize both his website and his advertising. If a corresponding consent has been requested (e.g. consent to the storage of cookies), the processing is carried out exclusively based on EU GDPR Art. 6 (1) lit. f. Consent can be revoked at any time.

Storage period

We process the data as long as necessary for the respective purpose. Inasmuch as legal obligations to retain data exist - e.g. in commercial or tax law - the personal data concerned will be stored for the duration of the obligation to retain data. After expiry of the obligation to retain data, we will check whether there is any further need for processing. If a necessity no longer exists, the data will be deleted.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

Of course, you can request information about the data stored by us about your person at any time and, in the event that it is no longer necessary, you can demand that the data be deleted or processing be restricted (see below).

Objection

You can prevent the setting of cookies by TAO, at any time by means of an appropriate setting of the internet browser used. Such a browser setting would prevent vioma from setting a cookie on the information technology system of the person concerned. Furthermore, a cookie already set by vioma can be deleted at any time via the browser or other software programs.

More information about the handling of user data at vioma can be found in this privacy policy.